25 May 1944___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SUBS: Trusty nails an xAk near Singapore.

S/SW PAC: The ambush worked, but there just wasn't much of value attacked. In the recon of Finschafen it looks like there are some combat ships there, but our DBs went for some big slow merchants instead. The DBs suffered to the small CAP at Finshafen, but still managed to hit 5 ships and left three in sinking condition while obliterating an SC. The Frances group hit 3 xAK with no challenge from the CAP.This move is still a success as the main goal is to bring uncertainty into the Allied rear and instigate action away from the front lines.

I'll now move the bombers back and throw a few more fighters into Rabaul. I also put two George groups into Hollandia, and I'm moving the KB out to a spot 9 hexes NE from Sarmi. I'd like to trap and hit the three BBs that are resting a Dagua, but he'll most likely move them back.

NORTH PACIFIC: No landings occurred yet. I forgot to check on this area today, and I can't say where the Allied fleet is now, but looking through the OPs report I see no sightings up here at all! Interesting. There was an F-5A over Dutch, and that's the only listing I can find for the area.

S DEI: Jocke bombed the small island base just South of Saumlaki, Selaroe, possibly to find out what units are there? The combat unit is only a recon regiment, just to hold against a para-assault really. He might also be ready for some LST/LSI moves here supported by PTs and LBA. I'm moving in another 49 plane Oscar group with low naval training, and ships are nearing readiness at Soerabaja to move down here.

Wyndham is captured. I managed to get about 1/4 of the naval guard moved back, but the rest will be sent toward Derby overland.

BURMA: After the surprise yesterday at Rangoon no bombers flew in Burma today. A few sweeps went over but that's it. Supply dropped at Bangkok moved into Rangoon, and all bases are flush again.

Jocke moved the army of 2500 AV that had been threatening troops near Taung Gyi back to Mandalay. I'll finally now be able to move that blockade back one hex from Taung Gyi at the split of the yellow road, and I'll set up who there with a few units and send the rest to the base for some R n R. He's still showing movement onto the road between the valley and Taung Gyi. I have units there waiting, but if he moves onto it I'll try to force him off as I'm sure his supply will not be flowing well off road there.

CENTRAL PACFIC: Eniweitok is invaded! That didn't take long. Looks like he's got the rocket ships working here, as the naval guard took a bunch of disablements during the landing. The base falls easily after more pounding from the air.

So this means the next strike in the Central Pacific might end up against the more firm fortresses of Ponape or Marcus. I would not contest Ponape, but Marcus might see some action from the IJN. I'm not sure, but maybe. I don't know if I could risk it, but at least there some support can come from the Marianas and it might be possible to engage in a distant 8 hex strike.

In the meantime, the Marianas are finally getting their garrisons in the nick of time. All minor islands will have naval guard and a regiment at least, and the four larger ones will have 400+ AV with a bunch of support troops, arty and some tanks.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR May 25, 44 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SC PC-789 is reported to have been sunk near San Clemente Island on May 22, 1944 SC PC-1081 is reported to have been sunk near Finschhafen on May 25, 1944 xAK Moses Rogers is reported to have been sunk near Finschhafen on May 25, 1944 xAK Jalaputra is reported to have been sunk near Finschhafen on May 25, 1944___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I went through and looked at R n D, engines and economic stuff as well this turn. I realized I am short about 140 Ha-32 engines after the new Frances model came online that uses those. I had been wondering why my pool was dropping so fast. Had to add a bunch of new factories. Soon, after those are repaired, I will change over one of the two Ha-34 factories to Ha-43 for the late war planes. It'll be in production next month. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SUBS: Seahorse nails a PB near Wolei. Good thing too as this is a convoy with troops for the Marianas. One of the gaggle of British subs recently released hits a PB near Groot Natea.

About 6 subs are trying for a lucky hit on the invasion forces near Dutch. It's some CVEs holding the fort, but no attacks as escorts pound the RO-106 at Dutch.

S/SW PAC: My LR CAP at Biak got crushed by sweepers. The tally was 21:2. Not good. Back to the drawing board there. Then the bombers came in and did more damage to the troops. This is getting to be a pattern.

On the 27th I decided to test the Hansa Bay defenses, as this is the main 4E base on New Guinea. Two George groups sweep and don't do badly considering what they are facing. They downed about 22 planes for the loss of 29. Still, it would be tough to try a bombing run here right now. That base is well protected.

NORTH PACIFIC: Dutch Harbor is invaded. The Troops are on but no attacks so far. I have a portion of a Naval Guard here, with level 4 forts. it won't last long at 40 AV.

S DEI: The gathering continues. Lots of recon in the area.

BURMA: Rangoon is hit again by air strikes. He is definitely moving the big portion of the stack onto the road to the North of Prome. That is preferable to another direction, but it still makes me nervous. anything over 5k AV and he'll likely push through the 1.5k AV I have there, even though they are well dug in. They have to be there to give time to get forces down from the Taung Gyi area. It is a general pull-back from the North. I will set up just behind Toungoo for now once those troops make it down.

CENTRAL PACFIC: The Marianas are showing some recon lately. That is nerve wracking. I'm glad troops are filling in there, but I would like another month to fill things out well and get the air force settled here.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR May 26, 44 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Loss of PB Kohuku Maru on May 26, 1944 is admitted Loss of PB Ronsan Maru on May 27, 1944 is admitted

Ships Sunk:

SS O24 is reported to have been sunk near Langkawi on May 20, 1944 Previous report of sinking of SS O23 incorrect. Intelligence reports ship is still in service___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dutch Harbor would not have been my first choice of bases to invade here, but maybe it's a symbolic thing. I guess with Allied engineers he could build a field there, but maybe he feels the CVE air will be enough. Not sure he's correct on that count but we'll have to see. I will not contest this one too much unless there is an obvious opening. He has 140 Hellcats there by the looks of it. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This feels like the beginning of the end. Allied power is growing steadily, and my ability to influence anything is waning quickly.

SUBS: The I-29 hits the DD Longshaw at Dutch, likely sinking her. Not what I was hoping for but I'll take it. Another PB takes a hit near Guam. That's three that sprinted in front of torpedoes to save the transports in the last three days. Not bad.

S/SW PAC: In spite of my better judgement, I tried something risky around new Guinea. Recon from Rabaul showed only 50 fighters and 95 ships at Finschafen, including APA, CA, CL in the roll-over. The KB has been hanging out, and I thought he might have put the more valuable ships into port for a few days until Rabaul could be suppressed again.

I sent the KB to near Manus, and struck with about half the strength of Jills and Judys. I also sent in raids from Aitape and Rabaul. The sweep of Georges didn't do badly, but I noticed that there were now Spit VIII here as well as Corsairs. Not good. The raids came in well escorted and coordinated and they all got good bombing runs after the escorts paid the ultimate price to get them there. Then we hit the flak. Not a happy moment. Jocke mentioned he has two 72 gun heavy flak units here. That hurt a lot.

Also, the concentration of ships wasn't in fact quite so valuable. One bomb hit CA Boston, another few APA were hit, and the Triomphant took 3 bombs. A few other ships were hit, but noting of consequence. In all this was a major gaffe. I have to remind my self often now that this is my first time in mid-44 and things don't work as they did in 42. It's all a learning experience. In all about 180 planes were lost on the day, maybe 130 from the KB. The airframes are getting scarce, but I should have enough for the next month until pools build up if I don't do anything else foolish.

It does suck that recon for the Japanese is so bad. Really, they did have cameras! Also, in reality an observer in a Judy could easily see if 15 ships were high value targets and 70 were landing craft, (as Jocke mentioned 2/3 of the ships at Finschafen were).

The CVs all extricated themselves and are heading to Babeldaob.

On the 29th some LSTs unloading supply at Biak were decimated by Judys and Jills. Nothing to write home about, but felt good anyway after the previous turn.

NORTH PACIFIC: Still no attack at Dutch.

S DEI: Some CAP trap ships moved out to test the waters. Nothing flew to meet them, which was good. He's just outside my range.

BURMA: Ouch. The Allied stack didn't even take a day to bombard, and after a massive pounding from the air, threw a DA at my entrenched troops near Prome. They got a 3:1 and pushed us back to Toungoo. One division, the 38th, is trashed. On the day I lost almost 500 AV destroyed.

Now the general pull-back is in full effect. All troops from Toungoo, Taung Gyi and adjacent areas are walking back to the hex South of Toungoo. I can get 3300 AV there within 12 days, and maybe more if I take from the reserve stack near Rangoon. I'd like to have 4000 AV to battle that stack. If he does move to that hex I'll load up there. He'll have to push through or turn around, and I'll try to make him turn around.

CENTRAL PACFIC: The Allied CVs popped up near Eniweitok again. That made me quiver when the KB was at 1/4 fuel near Manus, but I figured out that even in a flank sprint they wouldn't have been within range in a day. I did beef up fighters at Truk and in the Marianas and turned a few TFs around for a day to see what is up. There are a whole flotilla of picket ships out in the ocean about 10 hexes from Saipan. I'm thinking this is looking more like strike sponges than early warning, which would be outside our understanding about the use of pickets. I'll sit on it for now and see what happens.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR May 28, 44 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Previous report of sinking of SS Pampanito incorrect. Intelligence reports ship is still in service Previous report of sinking of SS Pintado incorrect. Intelligence reports ship is still in serviceSC-738 is reported to have been sunk near Biak on May 29, 1944 SC-741 is reported to have been sunk near Biak on May 29, 1944 LST-82 is reported to have been sunk near Biak on May 29, 1944 LST-85 is reported to have been sunk near Biak on May 29, 1944 LST-86 is reported to have been sunk near Biak on May 29, 1944 LST-87 is reported to have been sunk near Biak on May 29, 1944 PT-492 is reported to have been sunk near Manus on May 29, 1944 AVD Mackinac is reported to have been sunk near Manus on May 28, 1944___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I'll now abandon Rabaul and look to better defend the Marianas and Truk with the 200+ fighters stationed there. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

S/SW PAC: Biak falls. Such a waste. So many chances to stop this movement forward, but weather and a bad strike by the KB (the day we hit the two Iowa class BBs but couldn't get to the invasion fleets) meant he got just enough troops in to turn the corner. Once the Allies get a 1:1 at this stage, it's only a matter of time.

The KB takes replacements and refuels. That will take a few days.

Now I'll have to really try to keep the reinforcement and support fleets embattled. It's still going to be long and bloody in this area.

NORTH PACIFIC: Still no movement or attacks at Dutch even though a regiment is sitting on the base.

S DEI: A bunch of sweeps hit Dili, and the 2E force comes in after. That base is closed, and i lost about 4:1 over the two days there. It's not going to be too hard for the Allies to sweep and nullify any air power in the outer perimeter in the S DEI. When the fleets arrive the KB and deeper bases will have to be relied on.

i also lost over 20 strike planes when he set a CAP trap out several hexes from Darwin. I've now limited the ranges.

BURMA: The Allies bomb Toungoo fields and sweep Chang Mai wiping out a bunch of fighters. The retreat is progressing well, and troops are moving quickly from the Taung Gyi area back.

CENTRAL PACIFIC: The fleets did not move in, but disappeared, which gives me the creeps. I sent the transports back and they should begin unloads tomorrow at Tinian and Rota. Once this is complete all bases with a port will have over 300-500 AV. Saipan and Tinian are the most built up with 550+ AV each. Now I have to see if I can fly more small units to fill out other bases up to 200-250 AV as well.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR May 30, 44 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CAP engaged: 20th Sentai with Ki-43-IIIa Oscar (0 airborne, 8 on standby, 18 scrambling) 4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 37400. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 37 minutes 27th Sentai with Ki-45 KAIa Nick (0 airborne, 7 on standby, 0 scrambling) 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 12000 , scrambling fighters between 12000 and 35200. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 23 minutes 30th Sentai with Ki-84a Frank (0 airborne, 10 on standby, 0 scrambling) 5 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 20000 and 34440. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 22 minutes 33rd Sentai with Ki-61-Ic Tony (0 airborne, 7 on standby, 0 scrambling) 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 37730. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 17 minutes

Ships Sunk:Previous report of sinking of DD Charles Ausburne incorrect. Intelligence reports ship is still in service Previous report of sinking of SS Gurnard incorrect. Intelligence reports ship is still in service___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Tony Ki-61 Id factory is repairing, and it'll be another month before I have a significant number of these planes.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A new month! June 44 looks to be one of the more decisive months in the campaign. The Allies are beginning to push in every theatre from the North Pacific through to Burma. As the Japanese player I admit I am overwhelmed and just plugging holes as I can, but there is never enough to go around. Troops are scurrying to the new MLR in Burma, planes flying to spread across various fronts, troops still landing on islands that might be invaded within the week.

After the most recent surface engagements, which we won at Sarmi against the Allied CAs, the BBs needed 1-2 weeks in the yards at Manila and are only now heading back into battle. The Allies don't miss a beat during this time and take advantage of the absence of this surface threat near Biak while making me choose where to place the KB in a defensive role. It's exciting and nerve-wracking, and the boom could fall anywhere in the next few days.

SUBS: One xAK hit and the I-10 lost battling an Allied convoy in Cent Pac. Seeing a lot of DE now for the first time. They are tough in ASW.

S/SW PAC: Jocke continues to attack troops at Biak, trying to wipe them off the island. Fine by me. As soon as they are gone there the remnants can start getting to full strength at Babeldaob.

Judys and Jills hit unloading LST and one DMS at Biak. Lost quite a few planes but few pilots nice we have troops there. Good to keep this on to limit his supply drops and keep him from trying with higher quality ships. The KB is near, refueling, and will move to support should major forces appear in the area.

NORTH PACIFIC: Still no more up here.

S DEI: Two SAGs are now in place, one 3 CL 4 DD, and another with 2 CA 4 DD. They will come in after any landing to try to disrupt, but I'll keep them back until something happens for real.

BURMA: Jocke bombs to slow the retreat at Toungoo. It would be intereting if I got everything in place ad then he stopped showing movement to the hex South of Toungoo. Still I would prefer that as my troops on the other side on the Prome-Rangoon road can be built to 4.5k AV with in 3-4 days and would be mostly very dug in with lots of support. This is still the more vulnerable spot. It's tense, but I thikn we'll get there.

One interesting thing happened at Taung Gyi. Troops moved out before the others coming fro the North moved in and the base flipped, even though there is 700 AV of Japanese troops to either side of it and only 4 Allied units at Meiktila. I'll have to DA with the Division there to be able to move South now. jocke is trying to move something in but if it comes in move mode it'll be crushed.

CENTRAL PACFIC: Something is coming. The rollover indicates CVE in two TFs with a SAG and some DDs in four total TFs. These are currently South of Marcus island, and I don't know whether they are headed there, to the Marianas or for a hit on Truk. All fighters are on high alert and search is stepped up. Subs are fanning out across approach paths.

Some Emilys and other assorted TBs are on night attack from Pagan and Guam. I found out that the Frances P1Y2 has a distinct advantage over the earlier version. It's allowed to search at night while on night attack. This is great, and hopefully will increase it's chances of flying. The moon is full, which should also help. I'd like nothing more than a free shot at Allied CV/CVE at night.

I sent out two radar equipped E to remove some of Jocke's picket boats. Two down so far. He's using YMS for this. Fine by me as long as they're not intended to be used as attack sponges.

In a sneaky move I put Jakes at Ponape and Roi Namur set to naval attack 1k feet at range 10. They are all low naval trained pilots, at 65-70 skill. Interestingly, they got hits on quite a few ships at Eniweitok, including two LSD and some LST carrying troops. I'll keep trying with these guys, but he's already built that level 0/0 base to a level 1 field!!! That would take the Japanese engineers about 6 months I'm sure, and it's taken all of about a week here! Bow down to Seabees.

Troops are mostly offloaded in the Marianas. One more TF to finish at Tinian and another at Rota. One more day hopefully. I've got 400 fighters on the islands, with more nearby to fly in, but only a few strike groups. This is intentional. I'll wait until the last moment to add strike planes and use them at 0-1 range, hopefully to hit the transports only. I don't want to lose 500 planes for nothing against his 'big blue blanket.'

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR June 1, 44 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reinforcements: The Wake coastal gun unit is back! It'll need more than a month to rebuild, and I wish it would be able to be placed in the Marianas before the Allies move there. Allas, I may not have that luxury.

LST-175 is reported to have been sunk near Biak on Jun 01, 1944 LST-177 is reported to have been sunk near Biak on Jun 01, 1944 YMS-101 is reported to have been sunk near Marcus Island on Jun 01, 1944 Previous report of sinking of DD Monssen incorrect. Intelligence reports ship is still in service Previous report of sinking of SS KXVIII incorrect. Intelligence reports ship is still in service YMS-270 is reported to have been sunk near Marcus Island on Jun 02, 1944 YMS-388 is reported to have been sunk near Eniwetok on Jun 02, 1944 YMS-313 is reported to have been sunk near Eniwetok on Jun 02, 1944

Here is the wide open Central Pacific. The Allied TF could be heading several different places. Or it could be a feint luring the KB up as he sets up a massive push in the DEI. There are a ton of subs near the Marianas, either as scouts for the invasion to come or due to sigint that I've got a bunch of units that have been heading there. Or both. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SUBS: A few Allied subs are hit hard again, with the Cobia reported sunk.

S/SW PAC: A quiet few days on New Guinea.

NORTH PACIFIC: Nothing moving that I can see.

S DEI: The Allies go for Lautem, and send waves of 2E bombers preceded by sweeps. Luckily the P-38 sweeps come first and the big coordinated P-38 sweep plus Corsair sweeps at the end of the day. A group of Franks and Georges meet these strikes and get even results with the Lightnings, then tear up a flight of Venturas escorted by Hellcats, leaving only a handful of each by the end of that battle. Then of course 100+ B-25 strafers come in with their silly 50+ defensive rating and ward off 30 fighters, getting more kills than the fighters get on them and getting through to nearly close the fields. Silly that an attack escorted by 45 good fighters is massacred while unescorted bombers with only one defensive turret get through easily and bludgeon the base.

BURMA: A massive few days in the air here. I moved a bunch of fighters into Rangoon to try for some protection over my troops moving up from Pegu through the one clear hex in the area. They did their job and then some. A massed 4E raid went for Rangon and 220+ fighters met them before sweepers arrived. This was the most successful attack on an Allied air strike in some time, with over 50 4E reported shot down. They also got a hold of several raids of 2E over the troops and again made life hard especially for the British planes.

Our tank division moving through the clear got nailed still and took nearly 80+ disabled vehicles. It's still in good fighting order, but man this bombing of troops in the clear is surely extreme. I am not complaining, just lamenting. I used it to my advantage in China. Now it's Jocke's turn.

Unfortunately not much can be done in the next days as my fighters are all torn up. I'll probably lose a lot more if he targets fields at Pegu, Moulmein and Toungoo. Three divisions will be moving through the clear hex as well as other base forces retreating South. Could be a tough place to be during the next few days.

The retreat and reinforcement is still progressing well. Troops at Taung Gyi DA and rough up a Brit brigade. Now they will move South. Some Thai units are moving to cover the long yellow road toward Chang Mai at the river crossing. They are only active for two months, but that's probably longer than they'll need to be there anyway. If he wants to push them out he will. Just at some price.

CENTRAL PACFIC: It's on. Large TFs showing CVs, BB, and all of the rest including APA are heading West from South of the Marcus area. All units are at high alert in the Marianas. Man I just need another month to make this watertight, but I don't have it. I'm actually lucky with what I've got there after leaving it so late.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR June 3, 44 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SS Cobia is reported to have been sunk near Morotai on Jun 03, 1944 YMS-103 is reported to have been sunk near Truk on Jun 03, 1944___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I have 600+ AV at both Saipan and Tinian. About 350+ AV at Guam and Pagan. Another 450+ at Rota. There are three HQa here and lots of support troops. The KB will not try to hit this invasion. Against what it looks like is coming, it will be a massacre. I'm out of position anyway, so I'll concentrate on the DEI/New Guinea for now with the IJN and hope the air forces and subs can do a little something against his invasion fleet. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

South DEI___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Here is the S DEI. Obviously he's poised to do something here. Probably just waiting for the KB to go away. Even with it there he could land virtually anywhere in one night phase and there would not be much I could do about it. There are several SAGs of mine in the area and the air forces are ready to try to get a chunk out of him at least as he comes.

He's probing with sweeps and 2E bombers and has taken out Dili and Lautem plus Saumlaki already, but again, not without a price.

New Guinea___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Biak has fallen and now the last strong point is Sorong. That base has about 500+ AV of troops, but there are many other dots he could easily take and build up instead. He's got a lot of stuff at Sarmi, and all I can do is try to hit things as they move out toward the Biak area.

SUBS: A ton of sub activity. We lose and xAK near Ulithi. It's a day in our favor though on the 6th with a DD hit and reported sunk near Biak, and two little xAKL sunk off of SW OZ. At least I now the early warning system is active down there.

S/SW PAC: Neomafor takes the brunt of the 4E strikes these two days. more shipping moving that resulted in the sub attack o nthe DD. Air units are standing by, including the KB moving out from the Ambon area.

NORTH PACIFIC: Something is moving again toward Dutch it looks like. i have a surprise, with one group of Judys escorted by 90 Georges and 15 A6M. The CAP he has had previous was around 70-80 Hellcats. if it's the same we mint be able to punch through. The issue here is that I don't have the bases to fly from to get any more strike planes. Too bad. but really this is all a strategic stalling area, so even a little touch should keep him honest.

S DEI: He looks to be coming here I see ships massing out a few hexes from Darwin. Either it's a feint or another CAP trap. It's decidedly the latter in practice, because if I had my strikes set that far out I'm sure they'd meet 200+ LR CAP. The KB is near and I will show my hand with surface forces. I'll also create a PT boat hit to move into the area around Saumlaki.

BURMA: Sadness. Moving three divisions up through the clear hex north of Toungoo in combat mode I lost almost 5k in casualties including about 180+ combat squads! In one day!!! That is slightly excessive, I'd say. Not Jocke's fault at all, just the game. Love it. Hate it. I moved massive CAP in for the next few days, and I will fight to keep these guys in decent condition.

I'll still get those troops up intact to try and hold the line south of Toungoo. Unless other massive casualties occur en route we should mass about 4-5k AV there with a boatload of support, arty, and AA. No matter which way it goes, hex 56, 51 will go down as the biggest battle in this game if he continues on. It's really his best move since the other side has just as much and is both easier to CAP and more dug-in. Plus a win would lead to another dug-in jungle hex. If he breaks through here it's a lot of running after that. It could snow-ball in a big way. There is a chance to hold at Moulmein, but the other stack would have to get there quickly through Rangoon, likely being crushed from the air. Anyway, I won't think about that yet, but this is BIG.

CENTRAL PACFIC: Heeeeee-rrree'sss Johnny!

The full weight of the USN is now sitting off the Marianas. Judging from the amount of dead jake and Emily crews this is the whole CV fleet. There are also many many TFs of ASW, SAGs, and all kinds of transports. This is not a test.

Now the question is which bases. I'm hoping he'll go for Saipan against the CD guns, but that seems too good to be true. Guam has some as well, but not many, as does Pagan. Tinian and Rota have good troops, but Tinian has only 3.89 forts and building! Damn IJ Engineers! I should have put more in here sooner. I have two big recently arrived engineer units on the way. One more month and this too would have been a monster to handle. Now I bet it's one of the ones he'll choose.

Me? I'd go for Guam and Rota simultaneously closing Truk, Ulithi, Woleai and Yap from New Guinea with 4Es and DD raids. Then take those small atoll bases while leaving Truk and Rabaul to rot and basing about 300-400 Corsairs and Spit VIII on the two Marianas. That way there is less CAP to mutually support as there would be in the center of the islands and it would be near impossible for me to close two bases at once even with the KB should the Allied CVs have to move back to replenish. We'll see!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR June 5, 44 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ships Sunk:DD Hughes is reported to have been sunk near Biak on Jun 06, 1944 xAKL Beatrice is reported to have been sunk near Carnarvon on Jun 06, 1944 xAKL Silindoeng is reported to have been sunk near Carnarvon on Jun 06, 1944___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This is a landmark in the game. Jocke is caught up to the historic timeframe almost exactly, even after losing all starting US CVs and moving slowly through the New Guinea area. The Allies have brought the hammer, and it is coming down hard. Hat's off to him for sticking with it and making good choices to catch up the rest of the way.

SUBS: A lot of sub activity around the Marianas. We hit big when I-173 nails CV Yggdrasil with 2 TT. We do well against his renamed Skandi CVs it seems, having also put two TT into CV Valhalla earlier. This is good, and means that at least one CV won't be around for a while. Can we get another?

Elsewhere a few of our subs are lost and a few of his hit.

CENTRAL PACFIC: The invasion is at Tinian. Of course.

Well, he has enough to take any base he'd like to take so it doesn't matter really. There are three divisions plus a crapload of tanks and arty. And finally, after a long time away, we're seeing the Marines. Our troops will likely fold sooner rather than later against this much power. Still ...

Will he land another? If not, this may not be enough. It would mean he'd have to keep the CVs here continuously until the field was ready and even then there is no guarantee I couldn't shut it down.

Many sweeps wear down our various CAP areas and we get a few hits on strikes going for the small shipping and coastal patrols in the area. Amazingly none of his SAGs go for these ships and sue are still hanging around. I'm sure they'll be gone after the night.

Our night strikes are ineffective, but do launch TT at CVE. The day strikes get skewered, as expected, and it might have been better to not even let them fly as losing all of those escorts weakens the CAP over the islands.

S/SW PAC: Elements of the KB linger in the S DEI near Ambon and Boela and end up not getting the expected invasion to hit. The Allied TFs moved back to Darwin.

The CVs did send big strikes to hit reinforcement or supply TFs of DD/LST at Biak. Probably 10-12 LSTs sunk and 3-5 DDs sent under, with others limping back to base. While it feels good to hit something, ultimately losing strike planes to LST right now is not what I need. This was certainly not their intended target. Again, the targeting in this game is nt the most effective.

NORTH PACIFIC: The CVE led force moves closer. Tomorrow I hope it's in range.

S DEI: As stated above there is no invasion. Dili and Lautem are healing a bit and if they are not hit in the next few days I will base recently arrived Tojo and Frank units there.

BURMA: My main troops make it without further incident to 56, 51. Strikes hit the troops there but many are already digging in and the amount of AA keeps losses low. The Allies are also losing around 4-5 bombers a day to flak. I'm not sure he cares or notices, but that's 120-150 per month if this bombing continues before what he'll lose to fighters if this keeps up. Some AA is still on it's way also, and none has dug in yet.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR June 1, 44 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LST-31 is reported to have been sunk near Biak on Jun 07, 1944 LST-34 is reported to have been sunk near Biak on Jun 07, 1944 LST-204 is reported to have been sunk near Biak on Jun 07, 1944 LST-216 is reported to have been sunk near Biak on Jun 07, 1944 LST-338 is reported to have been sunk near Biak on Jun 07, 1944 LST-340 is reported to have been sunk near Biak on Jun 07, 1944 LST-29 is reported to have been sunk near Sarmi on Jun 08, 1944 LST-205 is reported to have been sunk near Sarmi on Jun 08, 1944 LST-449 is reported to have been sunk near Sarmi on Jun 08, 1944 LCT-130 is reported to have been sunk near Sarmi on Jun 08, 1944 LST-456 is reported to have been sunk near Biak on Jun 07, 1944___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Two BB bombardments hit the island and then all of the invasion TFs added to the fun. Amazingly the IJA troops are still in decent shape. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CENTRAL PACFIC: During the night bombers continue to find the CVEs and drop TT in their path. On the 9th 24 hit the water for no hits. Crap!

The Allies DA at Tinian and get a 1:3, which is fantastic! The only problems are that they lowered forts to 2 (!!) and took few casualties while we lost 100+ combat squads. Too much firepower.

Now for the issues. Jocke is upset that a bunch of strikes came in and went for my small ships in the area. These were all here for various reasons when the invasion fleet came in but have since just been getting picked off. I didn't even think any would make it through the night phase to be honest, and certainly didn't think they would warrant the kinds of strikes that came in. One ship was taken out of port, an ACM, laying mines at Saipan. Either way, they were not intended to be CAP traps or attack sponges, as he had thought. I think he may understand it was not intended now, but just wants me to do my best to avoid similar stuff in the future. We all have to deal with the game as it is, and I too have been incredibly frustrated with targeting procedures many many times during this game. I do not want to set CAP traps and I haven't ever engineered one. I guess I'll also have to be more careful about not engineering one, but stuff like this will continue to happen for both of us I'm sure, regardless of our efforts.

Most important for me is that it doesn't become a trust issue between the two of us. We have had a good relationship as players, and have been going at this for a long time now. I'd like to keep the respect we've gained for each other intact.

SUBS: Up North the RO-35 finds the Allied invasion force and is sunk for it's trouble.

S/SW PAC: Both BBs and DDs were set to hit Biak with bombardments. The DDs were ineffectual and one hit a mine. The BBs got a decent hit no the base and destroyed abut 6-8 planes. The day after I set bombers to hit the base as well, but there was no CAP!! Two groups of Helens came in and took out another 15 or so planes on the ground. Jocke had moved DBs in here, probably trying for my CVs that were only three hexes from Biak supporting the bombardment. Fighters must have been on escort dirty only.

NORTH PACIFIC: The strikes got through to the CVEs up here, but only three bombs landed the first day one two CVE, then another landing on the 10th on one of the same CVE, the Sitkoh Bay. It's now listing 'heavy damage.' Not bad for two small 27 plane units in succession. Now that I now what's going on up here I might even have time to muster the resources for a bigger response next time.

S DEI: Still just sweeps and bombing. No movements. I was ale to move fighters back to Dili and Lautem.

BURMA: The troops near Toungoo keep taking a pounding. They are building forts though and it's going to be a massive struggle here. The Allied quality will be more than we've seen so far. I'm worried it'll start with a bang and he'll get a 1:1 or something better right off the bat, and then it'll be downhill from there.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR June 9, 44 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We all have to deal with the game as it is, and I too have been incredibly frustrated with targeting procedures many many times during this game.

Unfortunately, this issue does cause problems for both sides. Slightly unrelated, but I just had a US submarine suffer 83% flotation damage attacking an xAKL during the night naval phase with gunfire in my other PBEM and never firing a single torpedo while taking 8cm and 12cm hit after hit. Ridiculous. It's these kind of actions, or large naval air strikes going after a couple of transports to get impaled on CAP that I simply can't understand.

We all have to deal with the game as it is, and I too have been incredibly frustrated with targeting procedures many many times during this game.

Unfortunately, this issue does cause problems for both sides. Slightly unrelated, but I just had a US submarine suffer 83% flotation damage attacking an xAKL during the night naval phase with gunfire in my other PBEM and never firing a single torpedo while taking 8cm and 12cm hit after hit. Ridiculous. It's these kind of actions, or large naval air strikes going after a couple of transports to get impaled on CAP that I simply can't understand.

Like you said, hate the game, love the game.

When something like your sub comes up, I just put it down to jammed tubes. When it is air strikes, well there are so many real life examples of it on both sides during the war.

I hate it, because the control freak in me gets frustrated. At the same time, it is why I play the game. If nothing else, Gary got the intangible part of the war down pretty good. Machine reliability, communication, and perverse human nature combined to create a lot of random outcomes. Far more than what you see today. Cheers!!

Definitely how I've learned to take these things by now. I feel you get more opportunities to embrace disaster playing the Japanese side, and thus find some various kinds of coping mechanisms and strategies to justify it all in your mind.

_____________________________

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

Edit: Oh and where is SAM? You have Grace coming ... hopefully SAM isn't too far behind. Until SAM arrives, your KB is at a huge disadvantage and your fighter pilots are just kami's as the A6M is no match for anything the allies are flying now except the P40N ... and you won't see many of those.

Edit: Oh and where is SAM? You have Grace coming ... hopefully SAM isn't too far behind. Until SAM arrives, your KB is at a huge disadvantage and your fighter pilots are just kami's as the A6M is no match for anything the allies are flying now except the P40N ... and you won't see many of those.

The places I've chosen to let the air out are the Aleutians and Burma. The Aleutians have been ripe for a while and he's only now moving. Just supported by CVEs.

Burma has held longer than my wildest dreams when I had to evac the central plains. I've condensed into a few defensive points. They will be tough points, but eventually I'm sure he will come through. Because he has to break through on one side or another, that should give me time to pull back and get another MLR set before the wave crashes over.

In the S DEI and in New Guinea I've tried to just hold the line and take as many losses as needed to show I will fight for those positions with all I've got. The Oil is even more important than the industry in my view, so the Marianas had to take a backseat until now.

He has landed now no Tinian, but will have just that island. Is that enough? We'll see.

The zero is far outdated, but in some situations has still held its own. I had a wall of KB planes sweep into a P-47 CAP and get slightly better than 1:1, which surprised the hell out of me. The Sam will not be around until about 1/45, so there is a while to wait. If I choose my spots to be supported by LBA though, I could have Georges and Franks fighting off Hellcats over my CVs. If I have to fight a CV battle it I will place CVs as close to LBA as possible. I have some theories I'd like to try out.

Here is an economic shot. The fuel is not dire, but I'm using too much with the fleet involved a lot recently. He's now hit Medan 86 (124) and Lanchow 17 (73) oil. I'll keep rebuilding that, but all of the other industry of course I'll leave once he's blasted it. The latest HI nailed was Kunming.

One of the busiest weeks of the year at work. Back at it now after a few days off.

S/SW PAC: Jocke is quite interested in Aitape lately, as well as bombing some other rear bases. He doesn't have nearly enough troops to take the base, but is at least working on supply. This gives me the feeling he's slowing a bit and noticing that the farther he pushes the more opportunities I have to harass his rear and stall isolated areas on the front. I predict within another month there will be another big push in North New Guinea.

NORTH PACIFIC: No more movement. I'm filling depleted air groups and preparing for another try at his minimal invasion forces.

S DEI: There is still no advance here, and each day without one is good for the Empire. I'm able to keep pulling oil out and get more troops and planes in, forts higher and of course, time for rear bases to prepare. His bombing of forward positions continues. I've got several IJAAF air groups arriving to help out. In about a month though a massive number of IJNAF groups are set to withdraw, which means I'll be doing a lot of shuffling around and possibly will have some holes to fill.

BURMA: Most troops are into 56, 51 and building forts. There are 5500 AV here now. Basically I could most likely hold his entire Burma Army in this hex if I'm calculating correctly. Air strikes continue and lose a good number of planes each day. Once his troops enter the hex I'll begin to contest the air again. No point in losing planes and pilots when there is nothing important happening, and until I know he's really going to carry out his movement all of the way.

CENTRAL PACFIC: More attacks on ships here at night, but no hits. The majority of the fleets have moved back with only a few CVE and oilers in range. The

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR June 11, 44 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SS Steelhead is reported to have been sunk near Sansapor on May 23, 1944___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Myrt should also arrive sometime in July, boosting recon ability and hopefully reducing losses due to it's speed getting in and out. I'll be needed good eyes in the coming months. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SUBS: The I-30 finds the Allied replenishment convoy, but is sunk for its trouble.

STRAT BOMBING: At Hong Kong B-29s hit during the night, and the 16 Tony KAI there give battle, losing 9 of their number! They do manage to account for 2 B-29 shot down and 2 more reportedly lost to ops. Well worth it, but of course 75% of the HI here is destroyed and will not be rebuilt.

S/SW PAC: Noemafor and Aitape are hit again by 4E, and several other bases still in Japanese control behind the lines are struck. Biak and Sarmi don't support each other well, and neither is large enough yet to hold both a good amount of CAP and bombers. For now he must compromise, sweep forward areas and bomb the rear. Sorong has turned into a bit of a fortress with over 200 air support and 550+AV on the ground. It is the only field within 4 hexes though, so must stand alone, and will be tested soon most likely. I'm bringing a lot of IJAAF fighters in.

NORTH PACIFIC: The Allied troops at Dutch attack and get a 1:1 on the 13th, then take the base on the 14th.

S DEI: A small foray of ships came out of Darwin and then back in again. Most likely to see what my reaction would be. There was no naval strike this time, my planes set to only attack at the range of the closest of my bases. I did move in more subs and made a bunch of MTBs in the area, which were subsequently nailed by a Helldiver strike. There are four decent SAGs in the area as well, including two with BBs.

BURMA: Strikes at Toungoo and Rangoon inflict more flak losses on the Allied bombing force. I'm sure this is not hurting his pools much, but it could keep them from growing.

It looks like some units have turned around and are moving toward Prome now. Hmmm. That is ominous. Some of his main stack still shows movement to 56, 51, but this may be a ruse to get me out of position. I'll start sending more troops to the holding position near Prome now. I can shift fairly quickly, but not as quickly as the Allies, so I need to hold there if he does indeed go that way for at least two weeks. It's getting tense. Fighters are getting rested in Bankok and will begin interdicting the area once troops are moving through the open hex near Pegu.

CENTRAL PACFIC: Nothing happening here. Just waiting for Tinian to fall so I can start bombing it. I did get the Wake CD guns nearly back to full TOE in Tokyo, and I think I'll send them either to Iwo Jima or even to Pagan. We'll see how it goes down there and if more is in the works.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR June 13, 44 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dutch falls, but now he still has no airfield up here. So I'll prepare more welcome for the next round. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The fall of Tinian is a true problem imho. Now you really have to keep it closed and bomb the hell out of it with everything you have. You have to force Joc to risk again another massive operation to conquer another mutual-supporting base in the Mariannas...

for sure things have really gone wrong for Japan in the last 6 months...

The fall of Tinian is a true problem imho. Now you really have to keep it closed and bomb the hell out of it with everything you have. You have to force Joc to risk again another massive operation to conquer another mutual-supporting base in the Mariannas...

for sure things have really gone wrong for Japan in the last 6 months...

And reinforce, ASAP, the Bonins now!

I would have said the same about Molu. You've turned that into a problem for him in your game.

Let's be clear for a minute. The Japanese aren't going to win the war. It's mid-44. All the Allies have to do is load up and head out with all of the CVs into the Pacific. I can't really challenge that now unless he's careless, doesn't bring everything and blunts his spear on LBA before the KB arrives.

Looks like you're jumping the gun a bit here, as Tinian hasn't fallen by the date of this report yet! It does, but I'll be writing that in a day or two, as I'm 4-5 turns behind in the AAR. Really though, if he's going to bring 3 divisions plus to any spot in the Pacific (and most anywhere else), he's probably going to take it. Tinian is a problem, of course. It's great for him to take it, but at what cost? Not having more than one base there is surely not the best for the Allies. He needs to come again, and I will be adding a bit hopefully before he does.

Playing Japan into 44 against a good player means things will go wrong a LOT. I'm getting used to that. He made some good leaps around New Guinea that I wasn't ready for yet, and that has caught him up. But Burma is still very contested, for now, and he hasn't jumped into the DEI yet, although he's been poised to for a while. I could be in the same position 6 months earlier or more, and a lot of games are. I'm feeling there is a lot of fight left in the Empire and he's got to be a bit careful still.

In good news, the Grace, the D4Y4 and most importantly the Peggy (T) are coming in July.

QUESTION: If he doesn't get within 20 hexes of Saigon, Formosa or the HI when would I get Kamikazes?

< Message edited by obvert -- 5/13/2013 7:05:40 AM >

_____________________________

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

PS - The past two turns have witnessed 80+ bombers hitting the fields and port of Tinian. My roll-over states 93/90 on the fields/port. He brought a good amount of AA here, so it will be costly, but he can't keep it up for ever and so must reinforce and conquer another one.

_____________________________

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

ORIGINAL: obvert Let's be clear for a minute. The Japanese aren't going to win the war. It's mid-44. All the Allies have to do is load up and head out with all of the CVs into the Pacific. I can't really challenge that now unless he's careless, doesn't bring everything and blunts his spear on LBA before the KB arrives.

Looks like you're jumping the gun a bit here, as Tinian hasn't fallen by the date of this report yet! It does, but I'll be writing that in a day or two, as I'm 4-5 turns behind in the AAR. Really though, if he's going to bring 3 divisions plus to any spot in the Pacific (and most anywhere else), he's probably going to take it. Tinian is a problem, of course. It's great for him to take it, but at what cost? Not having more than one base there is surely not the best for the Allies. He needs to come again, and I will be adding a bit hopefully before he does.

Playing Japan into 44 against a good player means things will go wrong a LOT. I'm getting used to that. He made some good leaps around New Guinea that I wasn't ready for yet, and that has caught him up. But Burma is still very contested, for now, and he hasn't jumped into the DEI yet, although he's been poised to for a while. I could be in the same position 6 months earlier or more, and a lot of games are. I'm feeling there is a lot of fight left in the Empire and he's got to be a bit careful still.

In good news, the Grace, the D4Y4 and most importantly the Peggy (T) are coming in July.

QUESTION: If he doesn't get within 20 hexes of Saigon, Formosa or the HI when would I get Kamikazes?

Very true, but you can still contest him for it. 3xID on a landing ... yeah, he's gonna take it. question is, how beat will he be? Can you reinforce/force an LBA+KB fight there? If your AF"s are built up, this is a good place as you can get a lot of LBA nearby and he has to bring his Armada into range.

re:Kami: I don't know that there is a date trigger, I only know of the range trigger ....

QUESTION: If he doesn't get within 20 hexes of Saigon, Formosa or the HI when would I get Kamikazes?

They are two factors switching on kamikazes (current state for you) - date at lest 1/44 - (true) - 20 hex or less distance limit - (false)

both have to be true, so kamikazes will newer happen if You hold him 21 hexes from those places

That's exactly what I feared. It's too bad there isn't a date trigger as well, but I guess I should count my blessings here and just be patient. I should have a good number of pilots by the time I finally do get them going.

_____________________________

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

ORIGINAL: obvert Let's be clear for a minute. The Japanese aren't going to win the war. It's mid-44. All the Allies have to do is load up and head out with all of the CVs into the Pacific. I can't really challenge that now unless he's careless, doesn't bring everything and blunts his spear on LBA before the KB arrives.

Looks like you're jumping the gun a bit here, as Tinian hasn't fallen by the date of this report yet! It does, but I'll be writing that in a day or two, as I'm 4-5 turns behind in the AAR. Really though, if he's going to bring 3 divisions plus to any spot in the Pacific (and most anywhere else), he's probably going to take it. Tinian is a problem, of course. It's great for him to take it, but at what cost? Not having more than one base there is surely not the best for the Allies. He needs to come again, and I will be adding a bit hopefully before he does.

Playing Japan into 44 against a good player means things will go wrong a LOT. I'm getting used to that. He made some good leaps around New Guinea that I wasn't ready for yet, and that has caught him up. But Burma is still very contested, for now, and he hasn't jumped into the DEI yet, although he's been poised to for a while. I could be in the same position 6 months earlier or more, and a lot of games are. I'm feeling there is a lot of fight left in the Empire and he's got to be a bit careful still.

In good news, the Grace, the D4Y4 and most importantly the Peggy (T) are coming in July.

QUESTION: If he doesn't get within 20 hexes of Saigon, Formosa or the HI when would I get Kamikazes?

Very true, but you can still contest him for it. 3xID on a landing ... yeah, he's gonna take it. question is, how beat will he be? Can you reinforce/force an LBA+KB fight there? If your AF"s are built up, this is a good place as you can get a lot of LBA nearby and he has to bring his Armada into range.

re:Kami: I don't know that there is a date trigger, I only know of the range trigger ....

My plan was to try to bring the KB in and reinforce in the Marianas if he landed, but the amount of firepower he brought meant I couldn't get near the islands on the water and the fields and ports were shut immediately, so no flying things in. By the time the armada pulled back the base was in dire straits with forts reduced, so there was no point to add stuff that would just be killed off within a week.

I had thought he would land about two divisions on two islands. That would have been okay, and he would still be fighting there to a draw as the LBA would have kept the Allies from endlessly bombing the troops into dust and the KB would have appeared if the Allied air power was weakened. Now I have to prepare for the same kind of contingency. I have some troops moving down now to reinforce Rota, Guam, Pagan and Saipan plus a bit for the little bases on the Northern Islands. I need 10-14 days. If I have that, I might be able to close the door for a good while.

_____________________________

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

QUESTION: If he doesn't get within 20 hexes of Saigon, Formosa or the HI when would I get Kamikazes?

They are two factors switching on kamikazes (current state for you) - date at lest 1/44 - (true) - 20 hex or less distance limit - (false)

both have to be true, so kamikazes will newer happen if You hold him 21 hexes from those places

That's exactly what I feared. It's too bad there isn't a date trigger as well, but I guess I should count my blessings here and just be patient. I should have a good number of pilots by the time I finally do get them going.

There should not be date trigger (let say 1/45). Why? Because kamikaze was desperate weapon. Japan was losing in all fronts, enemy was very close to Home Land, There was no time to train properly pilots in bomb , torpedo attacks so kamikazes concept show up. Les training required tactic with good chances of success. I You in `45 will hold allies 20+ hexes from Japan that mean You are not need desperate solutions.